A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

A Peaceful if not Ideal Resolution at the Wall

A man and a woman praying together at the Kotel in 1936 (Getty Images)

There has
been a lot of talk about a decision made by the Israeli government approving a section
of the Kotel for ‘mixed gender’ prayer. The comments range from outright
condemnation by Agudath Israel to almost giddy approval by heterodox movements.

The Agudah
calls it ‘profaning’ the holy site. Those in favor of it called it ‘historic’
and a huge victory for egalitarianism.

I have long
opposed the push by groups like Women of the Wall for egalitarian services at
the Kotel (for reasons that will soon become apparent). But I do not see the actual act of men and
women praying together at the Kotel as a violation of Halacha.

The only place
where separation of the sexes is required is in a Shul. One may otherwise pray
with a Minyan with women present. One will for example see ad hoc Minyanim for
Mincha and Maariv taking place at wedding halls where women are present in the
same room. Even right wing Roshei Yeshiva
will participate in them without any reservation.

So why is
there a Mechtiza at the Kotel? Good question. When one looks at archival photos
of pre State Palestine that feature the Kotel, one might come across images of devout men and women praying there together. The Mechitza came much later. My guess is that the
reason for that is that when the Kotel Plaza becomes crowded during peak periods
(like Birchas Kohanim) people are practically glomming all over each other. When men and women are together in situations like that it becomes difficult if not
impossible to pray. I think a Mechitza was probably installed to prevent that kind of scenario.

Some might
argue that in effect the Kotel is a Shul. After all Minyanim are constantly
forming there. Hence in effect it becomes a Shul and requires a Mechitza.
Perhaps. It is possible I suppose that the Kotel Plaza area has evolved into a
Shul.

But this is
not true for the Kotel area being
assigned for egalitarian purposes. That area was never a Shul. And I don’t
think a group of heterodox Jewish men and women praying together there will
make it one.

So why am I
opposed to it? Because of the motives behind it. It gives a victory to
egalitarian ideal that inserts itself into a religious area where it does not
belong. Insisting that egalitarianism trumps religion means (among other
things) Shuls without Mechitzos; counting women as part of a Minyan; or female cantors
leading a prayer service… are all things
that are forbidden by Halacha. A true
egalitarian ideal rejects those Halachos since they contradict egalitarian
ideals.

Egalitarianism
is sourced in the kind of feminism that does not allow for any exceptions. Including
religious ones. Any treatment of women that is different from the treatment men
is seen as misogynistic. Even if it for religious reasons. There is no such
thing as separate roles for men and women. Whatever a man can do, a woman
should be able to do. This is the kind of feminism that has been agitating for
this an egalitarian Minyan at the Kotel .

So I don’t
blame the Agudah and other Orthodox instructions for condemning it. But I kind
of feel the way the Kotel Rabbi does:

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy
Sites, said he heard the decision approving the agreement “with a heavy heart
and a sigh of relief,”

I too have
a sigh of relief. I hope this will end
the constant fighting over this issue. No longer will there be a disruptive distraction
by a group of women at the beginning of every month on the Jewish calendar - each wearing talis and tefillin praying and
reading from the Torah as though they were a legitimate Minyan. Now they will have their own place to do so out
of sight. The women that have been
praying at the traditional site - each on their own
side of the Mechtiza - will be able to continue
that practice in peace.

There will
be no more shouting matches or people getting arrested. The traditional Kotel
Palza area will remain as is. I believe that the vast majority of people that
go there for prayer prefer it that way. They should have the same right to
preserve that tradition as those who clamor for egalitarianism.

What I do not approve is what the following:

Moshe Gafni,
a haredi Orthodox lawmaker who chairs the Israeli Knesset’s powerful Finance
Committee, said he would not recognize the decision and called Reform Jews “a
group of clowns who stab the holy Torah.”

There is no
benefit to calling Reform Jews clowns. You can disagree with them. You can say
that their views are anti Torah. You can oppose what they are doing. But name
calling is not the way to do that. Whatever one says about Reform Jews, they are
anything but clowns. They are sincere in their beliefs and are acting upon
them. One might even say that they are religious in their own way. Much the
same as one might say the devout of other religions are religious.

It is therefore
insulting in the extreme to call sincere Jews who were raised in the Reform
Movement clowns. They are not clowns. Being wrong about Judaism as we Orthodox
Jews believe them to be - does not make them clowns. It just makes them
misguided. So too is someone one calling them that.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.